


And So It Starts All Over

by ssbfan4ever



Series: And So... [1]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Bruce Never Left, Established Relationship, Eventual relationship, F/F, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Reincarnation (sorta)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-30
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-26 23:24:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,511
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7594468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ssbfan4ever/pseuds/ssbfan4ever
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been years since The Avengers had disbanded, and people have stopped caring that their heroes were gone forever.</p><p>However, these two didn't expect to be the somewhat-reincarnations of Captain America and The Winter Soldier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [audreytalia16](https://archiveofourown.org/users/audreytalia16/gifts).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For this story, the OC characters have no connection to that of my other stories. I just couldn't be bothered to change the names. I'm lazy like that.

"Arabella Elizabeth Moon, I  _swear_. Where the hell is the cheese--Oh you have  _got_ to be kidding me."

"Okay, really? You know I like cheese, and you just leave it in the fridge like that?"

"Bella! I _specifically_ told you I was going to make the mac and cheese you wanted so badly!"

Arabella grinned sheepishly and Sandra sighed, shaking her head.

"I'm going to go buy the cheese. Be back in a few." Sandra said, smiling and ruffling her friend's hair.

"Tank you~"

"Oh, and Bella? Your roots are showing again." The front door closed, and Arabella shot up from the couch, running to the bathroom.

She inspected the roots of her hair, seeing blonde among the black.

"Seriously? Already?" Arabella puffed her cheeks a little, having only gotten her hair re-dyed a month ago.

Her hair grows fast, and annoyingly so. And Sandra loved paying with it sometimes, and making the occasional comment on how she's beautiful when her hair is done right. Or at least more so.

"Bella? I'm back."

"Izzy, you're gonna kill me--"

"You want something to touch up your roots?"

"Please?"

"Yeah, I'll go to the beauty outlet. Put the cheese away for me, though?"

"'Course." Sandra smiled gratefully at her friend, and headed back out.

Honestly? The brunette was thankful for Arabella putting away the goddamn cheese, and yet she was going out for the second time? Both because of her?

Damn, Sandra was too good to her.

Ten minutes later, Sandra returned, plastic bag in hand.

"God, where would I be without you right now?"

"On the streets?" Arabella playfully glared at the brunette, and the latter's lips split in a wolfish grin. "You love me and you  _know it_."

"Laugh it up while you can, Evens." Sandra laughed a little and headed for the kitchen.

"You wanna help?"

"Yeah!"

"'Kay. Just give me a second to grab a hair-tie, alright?" Arabella nodded, and Sandra ran to her room to grab a black hair tie, and tied her dark brown hair in a high ponytail.

Sandra jogged back down, and saw Arabella filling the pot up with water, her own black hair in a low, messy bun.

"Glad you didn't burn the house down while I was gone." Sandra said with a smirk.

"Screw you, Izzy."

Both girls laughed, and Sandra turned on her stereo. Her playlist played, and both Sandra and Arabella were singing along.

o.O.o

It was ten o'clock by the time they settled on their couch to eat dinner and watch TV, but the heavenly taste of the mac and cheese was completely worth it.

" _Today's the anniversary of the day the Avengers disbanded._ " Whilst flipping through the channels, Arabella had landed on the news.

"I'm surprised they could even function after the civil war they had." Arabella said.

Sandra hummed thoughtfully, and continued to pay attention to the TV.

" _There have been several attacks on the cities of the United States, and with the Avengers no longer there to stop the crimes, the police are having a difficult time._ "

"Jeez... You'd think if they got their heads out of their butts they'd realize that their country needed them."

"Well... there's a billionaire playboy, a god, two assassins, two soldiers--one of which was brainwashed--and a green rage monster. It makes sense why they don't do what they do anymore." Sandra explained.

"Heroes are meant to protect the people, no?"

"I _guess_ \--"

"Then?"

"It's not that simple, Bella." Sandra sighed, sliding down the couch a little. 

"I know. It just sucks to know that there are people out there who are hoping that Captain America or Iron Man are going to save them."

"Who actually thinks that anymore?"

"Kids, Izzy. Kids, who have grown up admiring those idiots, and still believe that they're going to get saved by them."

" _Bella_..."

Arabella sighed, and putting her empty bowl on the coffee table.

"If you say you're going to do something, you're obligated to do it." She said sadly.

"Sometimes you can only do it for so long."

Arabella ran a hand through her hair, and Sandra realized something.

"And why are you so worried? We aren't even in the same goddamn country."

"I feel bad for those who are in trouble. The victims that didn't do anything to deserve anything."

"A lot of people have things happen to them that they don't deserve. It's a part of life." Sandra's tone turned bitter near the end, and Arabella nodded.

"I just wish it wasn't." 

"I'm gonna turn in for the night." Sandra said, bringing their bowls to the kitchen.

"'Kay." Arabella said quietly.

Sandra made a stop in the living room.

"Bella, don't stay up late, okay?"

"No promises." Sandra sighed before jogging up the stairs, heading for her room, and the last thing Arabella payed attention to was the sound of the brunette's door closing.

When Arabella looked at the clock again, it was eleven thirty.

"Damn, I should go to bed." 

Just as she said it however, her phone vibrated. She picked it up from it's place on the coffee table, and saw the message on the screen.

_**Your life is going to change drastically, and you'll need our help when it does.  
-Unknown Number** _

"What the...?" Arabella quickly blocked the number, but there was a slight nagging at the back of her mind. "I just need some sleep."

o.O.o

"I got a message from a stranger last night." Arabella said. She was sitting at the table, while Sandra made eggs, pancakes, and added the bacon to the stove purely for Arabella.

"Oh? What did it say?"

"Some nonsense about how my life is going to change--or maybe even ours, I don't know--and how we're going to need their help."

Just then, Sandra phone vibrated, and her eyes widened. She showed Arabella the screen, and Arabella understood the brunette's reaction.

_**Don't dismiss this as some sort of prank. You're going to need help.  
-Unknown Number** _

"This is so weird."

"Note, this is after we were trash talking the Avengers--"

"No, Izzy, that's absolutely insane." Sandra deadpanned.

"Have you  _met me_?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Okay, fair enough. But still, how did they even--"

"Stark. Romanov. Barton. All plausible options to retrieve our numbers. So, now, we just need to out smart them."

"If it even  _is_ them." Sandra nodded.

"Whoever it is, better st--" Sandra froze. She grabbed her notebook and pen which had been sitting on the kitchen table. 

_Your phone is recording our conversation._

Arabella pulled out her phone, and set it on the table. The ebony haired girl mouthed:

_"What do we do?"_

"You know, I gotta give you credit for hacking the phone. But I'm gonna have to ask you to stop, or it's not gonna be pretty. You think I can't track you after this? I'm smarter than you give me credit for. So get out of her damn phone, and stop sending us cryptic messages. And don't even think about blowing up the phone."

Right after, the phone shut down, and Sandra picked it up.

o.O.o

"Wakanda. Whoever it is, is in Wakanda."

"Alright..."

"This is so weird. All I wanted was to lead a normal life."

"It hasn't gotten too weird yet."

"Arabella, knock on wood  _right now_." Arabella chuckled, and knocked on the table.

"I still don't understand why they would hack my phone, though." Sandra nodded, lost in thought.

"It _is_ weird..." She said, eyes distant. 

"Well if it happens again, we'll address it." The smell of smoke reached the raven-haired girl's nose, and she sighed. "Sandra?"

"Hm?"

"You burnt the bacon."

"Ah, shit!"

o.O.o

Sandra ended up making another batch of bacon--despite Arabella's protests--and the two sat at the table, eating breakfast and talking about random things that popped up in their heads--

When an arrow flew threw their window.

"Holy sh--What the _hell_!?" Both girls ran to where the arrow had pierced their living room wall. "It's that damned archer." Sandra muttered.

"So it is the Avengers. What the hell could they possibly want?"

"Something tells me the note on the head of the arrow may have something to do with it." Sandra said, taking the arrow out of the wall and opening the note.

**Hurry it up, will ya?**

"I swear to God--Okay, you know what? Two can play at this game... Er... three, I guess. Not as catchy though." Sandra said running to their closet upstairs.

Which just so happened to have swords and bows in them. 

Sandra went to the shattered window, wrote a note--

**And where the hell do you want us to go, hm? And with random ass people? Yeah, no.**

She put the note on the head, and shot the arrow where she saw the archer perched on the building opposite of them. And purely for annoyance reasons, flipped him the bird.

~|~|~

"Guys, she doesn't look too happy." Clint said into his comm.

"You shot an arrow through her window. What do you expect?" Natasha's said.

"And she's wielding a bow."

"What? Why the hell does she own a bow?" Tony asked, confusion evident.

"Well, she wants to know where we want her, and to show ourselves. Something tells me she knows, though."

"Just do it calmly, Clint." Steve said. "We need her and Moon over here so we can explain what we found out."

"Okay. How do you expect me to do it calmly, and not get caught?"

"You'll figure it out." Clint sighed, and got one of his grappling arrows out.

"This is my life. Talking teenage girls into believing that their reincarnations of Steve and Barnes. Which isn't a lie, but it's weird as  _hell_." Clint let go of the arrow, and it clung onto the fire escape.

~|~|~

"Well, looks like we might finally get some answers." Sandra said, crossing her arms.

The archer climbed through their window, and Sandra didn't let go of her bow.

"You can put that down."

"I'll let you us be the judge of that." Arabella chimed in, and Clint sighed.

"This is going to be a little difficult to explain." Clint said, and Sandra gestured to the couch.

"We have a couch, food, and water. You'll be fine." She said, and Clint sat down on the couch, and put his bow down.

"Well, you know how we have Scarlet Which? Telepathic, and so on?" Both girls nodded. "Well, for the first time, she had a vision of the future, and some insightful words."

Sandra had gotten up after he said that, and returned with a glass of water. Clint raised an eyebrow, and Sandra rolled her eyes.

"I'm a skeptic, I'm not cruel." Clint nodded as he took the glass and downed half of it in one go.

"So, what did Maximoff say?"

"You know our names."

"Oh please. Who doesn't at this point?"

"Touché. Anyway, she said that since we can't do our job anymore, there would be others to take on the mantle, and that well... Over time, they would receive our memories on top of their own."

"As in, every person you find, eventually acquires a specific Avenger's memory."

"Well, Avengers, plus one."

"Barnes?" Arabella asked, from her place leaning on the wall.

"Yeah."

"So, let me guess, you're here to tell us we're taking on who's mantel?" Sandra asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, Moon would talk on Steve's and you'd take over Barnes'. And don't say it isn't possible, because, well, it's not like you look any different."

"You mean apart from the lack of a dick?"

" _Izzy_." Arabella chastised.

"What?" The brunette asked innocently. Arabella rolled her eyes.

"So, you want us to go with you to Wakanda?"

"How did you--"

"I did say I'm smarter than you think." Sandra said.

"Oh Stark's gonna love the fact that you found him."

"Wait, hold on. You mean to tell me, that after the fucking  _civil war_ you guys had, and the warrant for your team's _arrest_ , you all are buddy-buddy again?" Sandra asked.

"Oddly enough, yeah." Clint's tone just screamed "stop talking about it".

"Izzy, drop it."

"No, Bella, I'm not going to drop it. Because there's a man in our apartment, asking us to fly to flippin' Wakanda, and a major detail like that is missing?"

"We'll go." Sandra finally faced Arabella with wide eyes and an open mouth.

"You're joking."

"Nope. When do we leave, Barton?"

"Now."

"You've gotta be kidding me. If we get murdered, it's on your head, Bella!"

o.O.o

The three had walked to an empty field, and there was a quinjet landing in front of them.

"Just so we're clear, I'm armed, and if I even smell funny business, I'm hacking into the jet's flight system and flying up back. Are we clear?"

"Crystal." It wasn't often that Clint was scared by teenage girls, but this was certainly one of those times. "And does this country not have gun control?"

"And you're going to ask us to do something that's less illegal. Oh, I'd have a field day with that." Sandra said, and Arabella gave her a pleading look to just  _shut up_. 

"You've got quite the mouth on you, Evens." Clint said, raising an eyebrow.

"Get used to it."

o.O.o

"Ah, you've finally arrived!" Tony cheered as the quinjet landed.

"Are you normally this cheerful?" Arabella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I like to think so--"

"Stark, stop wasting my time. What the hell do you want?"

"Ah you already sound like him. Great!"

"Yeah, about that, we were kinda wondering if we could get a more detailed description on that from Scarlet Witch? You know, the whole reincarnation thing?"

"Sadly, Wanda is out. But we've got it pretty down-pat. Come inside?" Arabella walked forward immediately, but Sandra hesitated.

After a short moment, Sandra walked forward, but there was not one muscle in her body that wasn't alert.

o.O.o

"I'm going to have to ask you to remove your weapons." Sandra raised her eyebrow at the doctor.

"No offence, Banner, but I'm not disarming for shit." Sandra said, crossing her arms.

"Leave her be, Bruce." Steve's voice rang from the hallway. "She wouldn't be stupid enough to pull any stunts

"Have you met her?" Arabella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Hey!"

"I'll take them for now." Steve said, smiling warmly.

And this was the first time Sandra didn't sass someone she just met today. And it freaked her out. 

Maybe being Barnes' reincarnate has already kicked in.

It was a scary thought, knowing part of you was someone else, but Sandra decided to not dwell on it.

"Clint didn't catch you off guard did he?" 

"You realize I'm the one that shot at him with a bow?"

"Sandra do you not have a filter!?" Arabella shouted as three made their way to...

"Where exactly are we going?" Sandra asked, suddenly serious.

"Just somewhere where we can sit and talk."

"And where's Barnes?"

"Out."

"Doing?"

"He's getting plums."

"Pl--Oh." Plums are said to help regain memory.

Well shit.

"Sorry." Sandra said right after.

"No it's fine."

"So you've all been staying here?" Arabella asked.

"Yeah. T'Challa has been hiding us from the government, essentially." Both girls nodded.

"So, this whole reincarnation business?"

"Well, the real reason we asked Clint to get you... We need you to take up the mantels."

"Okay. I get that you want Bella to take up the Captain America mantle. But me taking up the Winter Soldier mantle? Why?"

"Well, you won't be him, and you won't have to keep your distance from Arabella for the sake of your safety."

"And you expect us to have your fighting skills?" Arabella asked.

"You'll be training with us. And on after we feel you're ready, we need you to collect the other five."

"There are five more people we need to track down?"

"Do you know where they are?" Sandra asked.

"No."

"Great." Sandra said rolling her eyes.

"Well?" 

Arabella and Sandra shared a look, before Sandra looked at the former Captain and smirked.

"Where do we sign up?"

o.O.o

Sandra was put alone in a training room, and was told to wait until Bucky got there.

Naturally, Sandra picked up the twin katanas on the wall.

"Put those down before you kill yourself."

"Oh please. I have these at home, and I know how to use them perfectly."

And in a flash, Sandra was blocking a knife attack.

"Hm, you were serious." Sandra deadpanned and swept the other brunette off his feet. 

Sandra rolled her eyes and put the swords back.

"So, I've been meaning to ask. The arm... I'm safe from one, right?"

"Definitely."

"Good. I mean, no offence, but a metal arm doesn't sound fun."

The two brunettes talked for a little, before sparring, and neither gave in, for a  _while_. And when one did, there was a five minute break, then another fight started.

"How are you doing that?" Bucky muttered, and Sandra raised an eyebrow, dodging a punch to the head.

"Doing what?"

"Your stamina is matching mine."

"And?"

"Super-solider, remember?"

"Right. Do you think that just happened? You know, with this reincarnation shit?"

"Maybe."

o.O.o

Sandra had gotten a text from Arabella saying her session had gone well while she went out for some fresh air.

She felt someone was watching her, but dismissed the idea, seeing as there was no one for at least a quarter mile.

And that was when there was a burning sensation in her left arm, and when she looked down, there was a cut in her arm--which was at least an inch deep--, a dark purple fluid mixing in with her blood.

"Argh!" She shouted loudly in pain, clutching her wound. She ran back in the direction she came from and saw Arabella standing there, looking around.

"Oh my god, Sandra!" She yelled, running toward the brunette, who couldn't hold her weight anymore, and collapsed onto her friend. "Hey, hey, stay awake you idiot." Sandra's arm was throbbing, and she honestly just wanted it gone it hurt so bad. "Dammit." Sandra faintly felt herself being lifted before everything faded into black.

~|~|~

Arabella had been looking for her friend, just to talk a little, when she saw the brunette, staggering and her left arm bearing a deep cut, and a weird substance to go with the deep crimson.

Naturally, panic set in, and she ran to her friend, and after trying in vain to get her to stay awake, she picked up Sandra and ran inside.

"Arabella?"

"Banner! Oh, thank god." Arabella almost sagged with relief upon seeing the doctor.

"What the hell happened?"

"I just saw her staggering here, with this cut."

"Oh god." Bruce looked at the wound. "It's been poisoned. And if we don'[t fix it fast enough--"

"Your'e gonna have to cut the arm off." It wasn't a question. Arabella knew what would happen. "Well? Where's can I take her to get it fixed!?"

"Follow me."

Bruce was speed-walking but what Arabella really wanted him to do was _sprint_.

But soon, they reached a room, with a metal table and medical equipment everywhere.

"Set her on the table, and go get Tony." Arabella nodded, set her friend down gently--oh how she hated that pained expression on her face--and sprinted out of the room in search of the genius.

"Stark!" She shouted as she ran into the kitchen. The billionaire was leaning against the counter, drinking his coffee.

"What is it--"

"I don't have time to explain, but you need to help her." Tony's brows furrowed, before his face relaxed and horror overcame his features.

The two ran to the room where Bruce was trying to cut off circulation to the rest of her body.

"We have to cut it off." Bruce said, and Tony rushed to other immediately.

"What happened?"

"Whatever her arm was cut with had a poison in it."

"It has to go." Tony said firmly and Arabella felt tears prickling in her eyes.

But... Sandra loved playing the piano, the guitar, the saxophone--She can't play any of them with one arm.

"We have to amputate it." Tony said. "I need to design that new arm as soon as possible, can you take care of this?"

"I'll need more than a team of one, Tony."

"Well you have Arabella, there are no other doctors here." Arabella's head snapped up at the sound of her name. Tony walked toward her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Arabella, you need to do exactly as Bruce says, or your friend might die today." Arabella nodded firmly and rushed over to the table.

"Let's hope we can do this fast ans with the least blood loss possible."

o.O.o

After about an hour, and not  _too much_ blood being lost, Arabella felt faint.

"Arabella? Arabella!" 

She felt herself falling, but never made impact with the floor.

o.O.o

Sandra let out a small groan and brought up her hands to her face, and yelped when she felt a cold object touch her face. She opened her eyes and saw that while her right hand was normal, her left hand was now made of metal.

And looked very similar to Bucky's.

"What the hell!?"

"She's up."

"Why the  _fuck_ is my left arm now made of metal!? I thought we agreed that wasn't gonna happen--!"

"Sandra, look, it was either we cut off the arm, or you died." Arabella said, and Sandra acknowledged her presence for the first time. 

Sandra heard whispered bickering outside, and recognized the voices as Bucky's and Steve's.

"They're just kids, Steve!"

"I agree, but they have a responsibility now."

"She has an arm like mine, now! And if she's gonna have my memories eventually, she's gonna go through the same thing as me--"

"And she'll have Arabella to take care of her."

Sandra tuned out, suddenly feeling a dull pounding in her head.

"Ugh. Well this is gonna take some getting used to." Sandra said looking at the arm.

"You can feel heat and pressure with the arm." Bruce explained, and Sandra nodded. "There's going to be nothing different movement wise, you can do exactly what you could before. But there's something else we should probably tell you. Both of you. Arabella, you were knocked out for a little bit, because you absorbed some of the poison. And Sandra, we couldn't stop all of the poison from going into your system."

"So, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying, we also had to inject you both with the serum, or you would have died."

"Oh,  _great_." Sandra said, dropping her head onto the pillow.

"I'm sorry, but it was the only opti--"

"Bruce, we're not mad. Or at least, I'm not." Arabella asked Sandra with her eyes, and Sandra shook her head, finding talking to much of a task at the moment. "You did what you had to to keep us alive, and it's appreciated. It's just... It's a little too much to handle at once. But we do owe you one."

There was knock on the door, and Steve and Bucky walked in.

"I'll leave you four alone." Bruce said, and walked out.

"D'you figure out who it was?" Sandra asked quietly, and Steve shook his head.

"No. We tried going back to where you would've been attacked, but there was no sign of anyone for a mile." Sandra nodded, frustrated whoever it was got away. Her eyes then landed on Bucky, who refused to look back at her. There was guilt painfully evident in his steel blue eyes--the exact same colour as Sandra's eerily enough.

"Hey, Barnes," the other brunette looked up, "don't worry yourself sick over this. It's fine."

"You're left arm is made of metal."

"Twinzies!" Sandra chirped, and before Bucky could stop it, he let out a small laugh.

"You are something else."

"You haven't experienced it until you live with her."

"You're asking for it, aren't you?" Sandra asked her friend, who only gave her a shit-eating grin.

Bucky and Steve shared a look.

_There's no two more prefect._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignore the star on the supposed Sandra's arm.  
> ALSO I OWN ABSOLUTELY NONE OF THIS ART. I'M NOT TALENTED ENOUGH FOR THAT SHIT YET!

After a day of Sandra resting--despite her protests--Steve and Bucky decided that she and Arabella should spar with what would be their weapons and in what  would be their uniforms. Of course, Sandra had to work on her marksmanship when it came to all the different types of guns, but they could worry about the guns later.

"Hey, Bella, can you come here for a minute?" Sandra asked from the bathroom. The two had been a given a room with two beds and a connected bathroom to stay in.

"Coming!" Arabella called from her all too comfy position on the bed. "What is it?" Arabella asked, tying her now blonde hair in a ponytail. Tony had given them some shampoo that got rid of the dye and returned to hair to it's original health and colour.

"I wanted you to cut my hair. To about... the middle of my shoulder blades?"

"Oh? And way should I?" Arabella asked, teasing.

"Because I asked?" Sandra asked sweetly, holding out the scissors. Arabella laughed a little, and took the scissors from the brunette's hand.

"Layered?"

"Yes, please." Arabella smiled, and got to work on her friend's hair. "Thank you."

"Hey, no problem."

"You remember how Steve said there are five more people we have to find?"

"Yeah."

"Do you think it's the five idiots we know?"

Arabella almost snipped an extra inch of Sandra's hair.

"You don't think... Oh god I can think of who would be who."

" _Right_? But either way, we have no idea where they went, or how they are, what they're doing--God, the list can go on."

"We'll find them, Izzy, I promise." Sandra smiled softly at the blonde in the mirror.

"I'm just curious as to how this ended up happening." Sandra said lightly.

"That is probably something we'll never get the answer to." Arabella said, moving to the hair near Sandra's face. "You want me to cut these to?"

"Yeah, if it isn't too much trouble."

"You know, Izzy, you say you're not a good person, but you always try and do what causes the least problems for people. You're a sweetheart on the inside." Sandra blushed, and looked to the side.

"You are  _the only one_ , who gets to call me that, deal?" She asked, and Arabella's smile softened.

"Deal."

Arabella continued to snip away at the brown locks, and Sandra realized relaxed she was. Normally, she'd be very apprehensive about someone having such a sharp abject near her face, but... she knew Arabella would never hurt her.

"You're thinking about something."

"I am."

"You gonna share?"

"Maybe."

"Izzy."

"Okay, fine. I was just thinking about how, if it were anyone else cutting my hair, I'd be on alert. But with you... I can trust you like I can't with anyone else."

"I like to think that that comes from the fact that we've been living together for a while, and that we've known each other since we were eight."

"I've known people since I was five, _and_ shared a dorm with them. I'd never let them within a meter radius of me with a bunny, let alone scissors."

"Well, I guess I'm special, huh?" Arabella asked, looking into Sandra's steel-blue eyes.

 _No doubt about that..._ The latter thought as her heart-rate picked up.

"I guess so." The blonde was a little close to Sandra now--and was it just her, or did the room just get smaller and hotter?

"Well, your hair's done." Arabella said, and where there had previously been warmth, was a bitter coldness that just reminded Sandra that there were things too precious for her tainted hands.

"Thanks." Sandra said as she walked out of the bathroom.

Or would've, if Arabella hadn't grabbed her left arm.

The next thing the brunette knew, she was against the wall, caged by the blonde.

"Bella--"

"You say you're calm around me with scissors near your face, but when I move a centimeter closer, your heart rate picks up."--Damned super-soldier serum--"What's the big deal?"

"Nothing." Sandra said.

"'Nothing' my  _arse_." Sandra sighed, and tried to push the blonde away, only to have her hand grabbed. "And I know that if you wanted to really get away, you could. So what aren't you telling me?"

"Information I'd truly rather not share."

"Sandra, I don't think you get it. Normally this wouldn't bother me, but our lives are different now. If you can't trust me with some information, we have an issue." The brunette narrowed her eyes. 

"Something like this is not just information, Arabella."

"Then explain it to me."

"You don't get to force _anything_ out of me."

"I'm not forcing you to do anything."

"Oh, then keeping me caged against a fucking wall and pressing me to tell you something that would surely freak you out if you were to find out _isn't forcing_?"

Sandra replayed what she just said in her head, added it to the expression on Arabella's face, and she shoved the blonde away.

Sandra ran out of the bedroom, and ran and ran until she reached a random and empty room.

~|~|~

Arabella stood in the bathroom, stunned.

What would possibly freak her out--

Oh.  _Oh_.

"Izzy, come back, dammit!" Arabella ran in the general direction Sandra had ran, but it was a big building they were in, a mansion, practically, and there were so many hallways and doors, that Arabella had to pause and hope there would be a noise to pick up on.

And she did find one.

Crying.

Arabella followed the sound until she found a door, and she knocked on the door.

"Go away or so help me, Arabella--" 

The blonde had already picked the lock.

"Goddammit, Izzy, sitting in a dark room by yourself? Really?"

"Go. Away."

"No." Arabella said firmly.

"Look, I get it. I freaked you out--"

"You're an absolute idiot, you know that?" Sandra looked up again, and her eyes narrowed.

"Excuse me?"

Arabella walked forward, and crouched down so that her and Sandra were at eye level.

"I said, you're an absolute idiot." The former said, tucking a lock of hair behind her friend's ear. Sandra looked down and squeezed her eyes shut.

"Please stop teasing me, Bella." Sandra said weakly, and Arabella frowned.

"I'm not teasing." Sandra's head snapped up, and then next thing she knew, there was a pair of soft lips on hers.

Before the brunette could even process what was happening, those lips were gone, and her friend was smiling down at her.

"I'm not teasing you, Izzy." Sandra sighed heavily.

"You're just lucky you're you, dammit." She said softly, but she was smiling.

"So, how's the new arm holding up?" Arabella asked as the two walked out of the room.

"Well, it's certainly a lot to get used to. You know how my right hand is my dominant hand, but now, my left one is made of fucking metal--Argh!" Sandra suddenly fell to her knees, hunched over, hands on her head. 

Images flashed through her mind, but they were all first person. Doctors, labs-- _pain_ , oh, there's so much _pain_.

"Sandra!" Arabella put a hand on her friend's shoulder, but it didn't do anything good.

"Don't fucking touch me!" Sandra's eyes were wide as she backed up into the wall, but they looked so _haunted_. 

It was like she didn't recognize her.

Arabella grabbed Sandra's hands as the brunette thrashed and shouted and yelled and screamed, and then--

Then it just stopped.

Sandra was panting and her eyes were still wide, but they held confusion, which then faded into realization.

"Oh my god. That just happened." Sandra said, completely astonished.

"Are you okay?" Arabella asked, worry more than evident.

"Considering what just happened, yeah, I'm good."

"There's almost seventy years worth of that."

"Thank you, Arabella, for pointing that out." Sandra said, deadpanning.

"And probably nightmares."

"Are you going somewhere with this?" Sandra asked, a little on the cold side.

"What I'm trying to say is that when that happens, you come to me."

"You won't know when or if it happens."

"Then you really don't know how well I know you." Sandra looked at her friend--Is that even what they were? Friends? Well, friends sure's hell didn't kiss, and certainly not with that much gentleness and love and comfort.

"Bella--"

"I know what you're thinking, so I'm just going to ask." Sandra looked at her friend quizzically, her brain processing very little at the moment. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

It took a moment, but Sandra started laughing.

"Okay, that's a little cliché, even for you, Bella."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means your a dork and my girlfriend. Now let's go. It must be like we dropped off the face of the Earth to them."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
